Automatic mechanism for forming radiator cores and the like



V. HABIF "March 25, 1930.

Filed Dec. 2, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet March 25, 1930. v. HABIF 1,752,077

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR FORMING RADIATOR CORES AND THE LIKE Fild Dec. 2, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 5 L 1'. I" I I; j w nu. In I 1mm IIIIIIF I i H0 gwovntoo Vim Habif March 25, 1930. v, HABIF 1,752,077

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR FORMING RADIATOR CORES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 2, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 78 VHO Habif,

' March 25, 1930. v, H BIF 1,752,077

AUTOMATIC MECHANISM FOR FORMING RADIATOR CORES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 2, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Wm Habif,

Patented Mar. 25, 1930 PATEN'T OFFICE V T A E F SOUTH Q 9316, -$16303 I Q Q AU QMQBILE MIDI- ATOR COMPANY, or ns'rnorr, trrc rreaiv, ii eonrona rron or OHIO nn'rolvra'rrc rrnonanrsrr non FORMING ,Ran Aron cones AND THE LIKE Application filed December 2, 1325.

This invention relates to a continuously operating mechanism for developing a continuous strip of sheet metal into completely formed units for use in building up automobile radiator cores, and has for an object the provision of such mechanism for performing its Work rapidly and automatically.

' Another object of the invention is to provide a device which will form such metallic units so that a plurality of them may be placed together in a radiator band and soldered to form a complete radiator.

Another object is to provide a device for the purpose stated which requires no hand work or attention ofa workman.

These and other objects are obtained by the means described herein and disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the machine of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view taken on line i-A of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view taken on line 55 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail view of part of the device shown in Fig. i.

Fig. 7 is a view taken on line 77 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view taken on line 8 8 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a group view showing a side elevation end elevations, and a bottom plan view of the first of a series of dies forming a part of the invention and showing also the condition of a strip of material before and after operation of said die thereon.

Fig. 10 is a smaller group view showing similar views of a second of a series of dies and the condition of the material worked upon after the operation of said die.

Fig. 11 is a similar group view of the third of a series of dies and the condition of the material worked upon after the operation of said die,

Fig. 12 is a similar group view of the fourth of a series of dies and the condition of the material worked upon after the operation of said die.

Fig. 13 is a side elevational View of a crimping and kne i g l for Ope a on Serial No. 152,143.

upon the material after it leaves the die shown in Fig. 12.

A general description of the parts and the cooperative relation thereof will be given, after which a detailed description of each of the parts will be taken up in order.

A reel carrying a continuous strip 21 of thin material such as brass, copper and the like feeds said strip between a pair of cooperating embossing corrugating' and forming die rolls 22 and 23' (see Figs. 1 and 2) which die rolls serve to measure a pro-determined length of the formed and embossed material and to shear off and form the severed ends of said strip through the agency of complementary shear and forming members 24 and 25 carried by rolls 22 and 23.

The sheared off formed lengths 26 are then carried through the agency of a suitable belt type conveyor 27 for positioning the strips 26 above a table 28. A pair of intermittently operating pushers 29 are synchronized in their movement with the forming rolls and serve to discharge the formed strips 26 from the belt 27 onto table 28. The table 28 has a pair of transverse slots 30 out therethrough, A pair of endless chains 31 operating beneath the slots 30 are provided with spaced lugs 32, which extend through the slots and carry the strips forwardly across the table and position them over a pair of pivotally mounted fingers 33 which operate through a second pair of slots 34 in said table. The fingers 33 definitely position the strip 26 over an opening 35 in the table and beneath a bending blade 36 mounted on a pivotally mounted arm 37 which drives the blade downwardly upon the strip, bends said strip and carries it downwardly between a pair of widely spaced friction rolls 38, which engage the outer faces of the doubled over strip and carry said strip downwardly in a vertical position into a chute 39, from whence it is moved transversely by a pusher bar 40. U-shaped channels or guides 360 secured to blade 36 serve to direct the folded strips 26 vertically downwardly. As the doubled strip 26 is moved out of the chute 39, the free ends 41 of said strips are disposed on opposite sides of an anvil 42. Two series of suitably formed links or blocks as, having 35 v in the path of lever 57. This tripping of lever 57 and the projection of shear member shoulders 430, are arranged to form a pair of endless chains, which operate on opposite sides of the anvil 42." Suitable angular rotating members support the chains comprising blocks 43 which engage'the strip 26 beneath its free ends, .with theshoulders 430 engaging the edges of the strip for pushing the ends along the anvil and through the series of dies 44, "45, 46 and 47, which bring the ends 41 together, roll them intoa rounded open seam, then flatten-the seam and bend it flat upon the bodyof the strip. The foldedand turned down seam 49 is then passed beneath the knurling and crimping roller 48 so that the strip 26 is formed into an endless corrugated band unit for use in building up an automobile radiator.

The reel 20 may be of an approved structure for carrying-the rib on or elongated strip 21 of metal. The reel 20, may be mounted upon a suitably. supported table member 50 which carries thepedestal blocks 51 and 52 which support shaft 53 for the upper form.- ing roll 22. A suitable friction or brake mechanism 54, provided with suitable spring tension device 55, serves to preclude coasting or back lash of the forming roll22. The shear member24 is reciprocably contained in a recess in theroll 22and is normally retained in a retracted position by means of a spring 56. vA -lever-57 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon the side of roll 22 and is adaptedto be moved about its pivotal mounting for projecting the shear 24 when the end of the lever 57 strikesa trip stop 58 disposed 24 occurs when complementary shear and formlng member 25 1s brought beneath shear member 24 by the rotation of the lower form ing' roll 23. Shear and forming member 24 then forms the strip, into a W shape after which further movement of the member 24 severs the strip, leaving uniform V shaped portions on each of the severed ends. Further rotation of the forming die rolls draws and forms the strip as it is drawn between said rolls, forming the desired depressions, shouldersand-flanges as well as corrugations on the strip. The particular shape of the corrugations is purely a matter of design and choice, and need not be herein disclosed at length. I It is sufficient to state that these corrugations must be generally halfround, half hexagonal or any other desired half polygonal shape.

.The conveyor belt27 extends about pulley 59; mounted upon suit-able standards 60 secured to the table 50 and a pulley 61 rotatably supported upon suitableuprights secured to base 62 of the device. 'A permanent stop 63 is suitably secured to the table 28 and extends above the upper face of belt 27 adj acent the pulley 61. It will be readily apparent that the strip 26 passing through the rollers 22 and 23 and onto belt 27 will, immediately,

upon being severed be carried by the belt 27 until it is stopped and positioned against the stop 63. The pushers 29 are slidably mounted on rods 64 which are pivotally mounted as at. 65. upon suitable upri hts 66. The rods 64 haveassociated therewith adjacent their pivotal mountings cam levers 67 which ride over the faces of cams 68 for intermitthe remaining ends. Rotatable pulleys 70 a are carried at the forward ends of rod 64 and" pulleys 71 are rotatably mounted on suitable projections on the lever arms 67. 'A cable or cord 72 has its one end secured to the forward face of pusher block 29 and extends about pulley 70 and over pulley-71 and has its opposite ends secured to'an arm 73-pivotally mounted adjacent table 62. The arm 73 isnormally held in a raised position through the agency of the spring 69 and cord 72. A cam secured to cam shaft 75 which also carries the, cam 68, serves'to intermittently depress the arm 7 3 which results in forward movement of the pusher blocks 29 over the face of belt 27 and against the resistance of springs 69. From the foregoing it will be apparent that the pusher blocks and rods 64 are intermittently raised to permit astrip 26 to' pass therebeneath and to abut the stop 63. The position of cam 74 relativeto arm 73 permit-s spring 69 to withdraw pusher blocks 29 to a retracted position. Upon the positioning of a strip '26 and the subsequent.

lowering of the rods 64, the cam 74 acts upon arms 73 and pulls the blocks forward across the belt 27 thereby moving the strips 26 forwardly onto the table 28 and transversely of the slots 30 in saidtable.

The chains 31 are carried by pairs of sprockets 76 and 77 the latter pair being carried by revolubly mounted shaft 78 which is driven through suitable gears 79 from the cam shaft 75. The lugs 32 on chains 31 pass beneath the lower face of belt 27 and project above the table 28 sufficiently to contact the strip 26 which has been discharged from the upper face of the belt 27 and tovslidably move the strip across the top of the table 28. A

guide member 80' which may conveniently 1 yond the center line of shaft 81 carrying sprockets 76", the lugs 32 are again carried beneath the face of the table 28.

Itv will be understood that the movement of chains 31 is relatively slow and that several strips 26 are being moved along, one behind another by said chains at the same time. In order to provide suflicient time in the operation of the device for the bending of the strips, the fingers 33, rigidly secured to shaft 82 are given rapid intermittent movement. This rapid movement is provided through the agency of a linger 83 secured to shaft 82 and having its one end extending in the path of a cam 84 mounted on driven shaft 85 which also carries the conveyor belt pulley 61. The finger 83 is intermittently tripped by cam 84 to move the shaft in one direction for bring ing fingers 33 upwardly through slots 34 in table 28 whereby the strips 26 are moved against a stop 86 at the edge of table 28 and beneath the bending blade 36. An arm 87 is rigidly secured to shaft- 82 and a spring 88 has its one end secured to the free end of the arm 87 and its opposite end secured to the base'62. This serves to immediately return the fingers 33 to a position beneath the table when the finger 83 is released from the influence of cam 84. A bevel gear 89 on shaft 82 meshes with a bevel gear 90 on a vertical shaft 91 so that intermittent oscillatory movement is imparted to the shaft 91 for moving pusher bar 40 intermittently through the chute 39. This movement is accomplished through a plurality of arms 92 secured to shaft 91 and rods 93 pivotally mounted on arms 9-2 and carrying the pusher bar 40 at the free ends thereof.

It will also be noted that the bending blade 36 carried by lever 37 and actuated by shaft 94 receives its intermittent movement through the agency of a cam 95 on shaft 85, which cam imparts movement to the shaft 94 through finger 96 rigidly secured to shaft 94. A spring 97 has its one end connected to the table62 and its opposite end connected to, a finger 98 rigidly secured to a shaft 94 whereby the bending blade is normally urged to a raised position.

The friction rollers 38 also receive their power from the shaft 85 through a suitable sprocket 99 on said shaft, a chain 100 and a sprocket 101 secured to the shaft on one of the rollers 38. The shafts of rollers 38 are provided with pulleys 102 about which extends a belt 103 which provides rotation of the pulleys toward one another.

A pair of pulleys 104 are polygonal in plan and are mounted for free rotation upon suitably journaled shafts 105 These pulleys are revoluble in a horizontal plane and extend over the top of chute 39 (see Figs. 1 and 4). A second pair of similar pulleys 106 and 107 are rigidly secured to vertical shafts 108 and 109 respectively. The shafts 108 and 109 carry a, pair .of intermeshing gears 110. A bevel gear 111 on shaft 108 is power actuated by bevel gear 112 secured to a horizontal shaft 113 which is driven through the agency of a sprocket 1140 carrying a chain 114. The chain 114 passes over a sprocket 115 which is carried by the shaft 116 carrying tight and loose pulleys 117 and 118. It will be understood that the pulley 117 is driven by a suitable belt, connected with any desired source of power, or that any other prime mover may be suitably connected to the shaft 116 for actuating the entire drive connection throughout the machine. One pair of polygonal pulleys 10 1- 106 has the chain comprising the blocks 43 extending about it While the other pair, comprising pulleys 104 and 107, has a similar chain of blocks 43 extending about it. The blocks receive between the folded strip 26 and move the opposite ends of said strip slidably along opposite sides of the anvil 42. Each successive pair of blocks 43 on the chains, clamps a successive one of the strips 26 as it is discharged from the chute 39 and carries the ends of said strips successively through the dies 44, 45, 46, 47

and beneath lrnurling roll 48. After the proj ecting ends of the strip 26 have been brought together, rolled one upon the other, flattened and mashed downwardly upon the body of the strip and clamped, the pairs of blocks carry said strip forwardly and discharge them at the end of anvil 42 in a completed state. A plurality of the endless bands or units thus formed, are then placed side by side, with the seamed ends extending alternately in opposite directions, and are clamped together, whereupon the edges may be solders-din order to form an automobile radiator core.

In order to provide adjustment of the forming die rolls 22 and 23, the shaft 53 has a flat yoke 119 keyed thereto or otherwise rigidly secured thereon. The yoke 119 has elongated slots 120 extending therethrough. A gear 121 has studs 122 which extend through the slots 120 and carry nuts 123 for clamping the gear to the yoke. Pairs of opposed set-screws 124 extend through threaded bosses 125 on one face of the gear so that accurate and fine adjustment of the gear on the shaft may be had. From the foregoing it will be noted that the die rolls 22 and 23 may be positioned with relation with one another while the gear 121 is loose upon shaft 53. After correctly positioning the die rolls, the gear 121 and gear 126 may be properly meshed by means of usting screws 124. After the proper adjustment is effected the nuts 123 are tightened so that the entire train of mechanisms may operate in perfect synchronism.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pair of co-operating forming rolls for receiving between them a strip ceiving means w'hereby the strip is folded upon itself, a chute, means intermediate the chute and the last mentioned recelving means for engaging the folded strip and moving it into the chute, a series of stationary seam-' ing dies, an anvil mounted beneath said series of dies and means for carrying the folded strip over the anvil whereby the free ends of said folded strip are moved through the stationary seaming dies for joining and seaming the free ends of the strip.

2. In a device for forming radiator core elements and the like the combination of a die means for forming a strip of sheet metal, means for receiving said strip metal from the dies, means for bending said formed strip intermediate its ends, a series of aligned sta-V tionary seaming dies, means for bringing together the free ends of the strip, anvil means beneath the seaming dies and about which the folded strip extends, and means for gripping the strip adjacent its free ends and moving said free ends over the anvil and through the seaming dies whereby the free ends are joined.

3. In adevice for automatically forming endless bands for use in automobile radiator cores and the like the combination of means for receivingjand forming an endless strip of sheet metal, a shearing device associated with said forming means and adapted to cut the formed strip metal into uniform lengths, a table, conveying means for receiving the formed severed strips from the forming means and positioning them above the table, intermittently operating means fordischarg ing the strips from the conveying means, means for moving the strips transversely across the table, a bending blade adapted to strike a strip intermediate its ends for folding the strip upon itself, means for moving the strip in folded condition through the table, gripping means comprising pairs of moving blocks for engaging the folded strip adjacent its free ends, stationary anvil means disposed between the'blocks and adapted to receive the free ends of the strip on opposite sides thereof and seaming dies mounted above the anvil, the blocks being adapted to move'the strips over the anvil whereby the free ends of said strips are received by the dies and anvil for joining said free ends of the strip. 1

4. In a device of the class described the combination of a pair of rotatably mounted cooperating forming rolls a pair of co-operating shearing members mounted in the cooperating faces of the forming rolls, means normally retaining one of said shearing members in a retracted position within one of said forming rolls, pivotally mounted means on said forming roll for projecting the said shearin member and a trip stop disposed adjacent the other of the formig rolls whereby the pivotally mounted means will be actuated upon rotation of the forming roll for projecting the Ietraotile shearing member, rotation of the forming rolls serving to form and move a strip of material therethrough and to sever the strip'thus formed upon actuation of the shear member whereby uniform formed lengths of sheet material are provided.

5. In a device for positioning and folding strips of corrugated metal the combination of a table having a pair of spaced slotsand an aperture adjacent said slots, a pair of chains mounted for movement beneath the table and in alignment with the slotstherein, lugs on the v chains adapted to extend through the slots and to move above thetable upon movement of the chain, a bending blade mounted for intermittent movement through the aperture in the table, the lugs on the chains serving to slidably move strips of cor ruga'te metal over the table, and toward'the bending blade, a guide rib extending across, .the top of the table and, in parallelism with the slots and adapted to be received within one of the corrugations in the strip, means for positioning a strip over the aperture in the table and beneath the -blade,the downward movement of the blade serving to bend the strip intermediate its ends and to move said strip throughthe aperturein.thetable, and means for engaging the corrugated folded strip as it passes through the aperturein the table for removing the strip from the path of the bending blade. I

' 6. In a device ofthe class described :the combination of a plurality of blocks pivotally mounted upon one another at opposite ends to provide an endless chain,-a pair of rotatably mounted pulley members of polygonal shape andadapted to receive the endless chain about them with several of the blocks each abutting individual faces of each of said pulleys, an anvil mounted adjacent the outer edge of the chain of blocks intermediate the pulleys and a die rigidly mounted above the anvil, the anvil and a given 1 block being adapted to received between them a strip of metal, movement of the pulleysserving to actuate the chain whereby said strip of metal is slidably moved along the anvil with its one end in position for entry into the die.

7 In a device for cutting uniform lengths of sheet metal thecombination of. a pair of V within the body lines of said roll, means on said roll adapted for movement for projecting said complementary shear member and a trip member fixedly mounted in the path of said means for actuating said means once during each revolution of the rolls whereby the slidable shear member is actuated for severing the strip of sheet metal.

8. In a device for forming uniform endless bands of sheet metal the combination of a pair of co-operating rolls for moving a strip of sheet metal between them, shear members carried by the rolls and adapted for cutting engagement once during each revolution of the rolls whereby to provide uniform lengths of sheet metal, a continuously operating conveyor for receiving the severed strips from the roll, means for intermittently discharging the strips transversely of the conveyor, a seaming die, means disposed intermediate the seaming die and the conveyor for folding the strip upon itself for bringing together the free ends of said strip, means for moving the folded strip with the free ends into the seaming die whereby said free ends are rolled upon one another and seamed, anvil means for supporting the strip during the seaming operation and a crimping roll adjacent the seaming die for crimping the seam as the strip is carried between the anvil and said crimping roll.

9. In a device for forming radiator core elements and the like the combination of co-operating means for receiving strip metal, whereby to provide uniform transverse depressions terminating adjacent the opposite longitudinal edges of the strip, said means comprising a means for cutting the embossed ribbon into lengths as it is formed, means for bending said strips upon themselves whereby to dispose the opposite ends of the strip adjacent one another, means for receiving the strips thus bent, for bringing together the free ends of the strip, for rolling said free end upon one another and for crimping the rolled ends.

10. In a device for the continuous production of endless strip metal elements the combination of means for forming and cutting continuous metal ribbon into strips of predetermined shape and length, means for receiving and positioning such strips, means for folding said strips upon themselves to bring the ends thereof adjacent one another,

means for receiving and moving the folded strips with the ends in said adjacent position, and lock-seaming means operative for joining said ends as the folded strips are carried along by said last mentioned moving means.

11. In a machine for the continuous production of radiator core elements, the com bination of means for forming and cutting continuous metal ribbon into strips of predetermined shape and length, folding means the folding means and moving them through the lock-seaming means.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th day of November, 1926.

VITA HABIF. 

